“This cycle of poems by John Piper tells the story of God’s care for Naomi and the love affair between Ruth and Boaz through the eyes of their son, an aged Obed, as he narrates the account to his eight-year-old grandson David, the future king of Israel.” – From the blurb

** – ‘Let our Biblical students not only master the facts and logic, but catch the spirit of these commentaries, and we can have no fear for the issue of that conflict with Rationalism and Popery united, by which Protestantism in this country seems to be threatened.’ – Wesleyan Mehodist Magazine, quoted by Surgeon

Bernard (1568-1641) was a puritan minister in England, and the predecessor of Richard Alleine.

** – ‘Mr. Grosart is enthusiastic in his praise of this work, and says ‘that it abounds with apophthegms [concise sayings or maxims] and compressed thoughts.’ We defer to so high an authority, but we are not much fascinated by the book.’ – Spurgeon

** – ‘Not one of Fuller’s best; but still quaint and pithy, and lit up with flashes of his irrepressible wit. The above works of Bernard and Fuller have been reprinted in Nichol’s Series of Commentaries, in one volume.’

* – ‘Lavater was a reformer of high repute, son-in-law of Bullinger. He wrote a curious work on spectres, and made a catalog of comets, thus showing himself to be both a philosopher and divine. His book is seldom met with.’ – Spurgeon

.

1700’s

MacGowan, John – Discourses on Ruth and other Important SubjectsBuy 1781

** “MacGowen, the author of the Dialogue of Devils, is well known for originality and force. In this case his sermons are full of Gospel truth, but the texts are too much accommodated and spiritualized. The discourses are good reading.” – Spurgeon

‘Spiritual reflections after the high Calvinistic school. Some preachers cannot see Christ where He is, but Allen finds Him where He is not. There is in these reflections much godly savor, but very little exposition.’ – Spurgeon

This Allen was not the one that translated Calvin’s Institutes. James Darling said that Allen was an Antinomian (one who believes that Christians are not bound by moral injunctions). Antinomians, not believing that moral injunctions should be derived from God’s Word, often replaced this large aspect of Scripture’s teaching with finding Christ everywhere in the Bible, especially the Old Testament.

Cox was (1826–1893) an English non-conformist, baptist and a universalist (not recommended) who was an editor of the magazine The Expositor.

‘The devotional nature of this commentary does not detract from its expository value. While popular in style, it exhibits a remarkable understanding of human nature, and provides its readers with a work of real merit.’ – Cyril J. Barber

‘A systematic consideration of the central themes of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, incorporating into its material the latest archaeological findings in the Near East… Deals with the difficult problems… A commendable volume.’ – Cyril J. Barber

Israel from Conquest to Exile: a Commentary on Joshua to 2 Kings Buy 1994

.

Advanced

Kennedy, A.R.S. – The Book of Ruth, the Hebrew Text with Grammatical Notes and Vocabulary Buy 1928

Smith, Lesley – Medieval Exegesis in Translation: Commentaries on the Book of RuthBuy

“This book brings together and translates from the medieval Latin a series of commentaries on the biblical book of Ruth, with the intention of introducing readers to medieval exegesis or biblical interpretation…” – From the blurb